The Miami Dolphins have gone the college route to find a couple more assistants for Joe Philbin’s staff.

Former Iowa offensive coordinator Ken O’Keefe also accepted a position as the Dolphins receiver coach, reuniting with his old friend and former protege.

As previously reported in the Sun-Sentinel, Lou Anarumo left Purdue to become Miami’s defensive backs coach, and Phil McGeoghan leaves the University of South Florida to become assistant wide receivers coach for the Dolphins.

O’Keefe has been Iowa’s offensive coordinator since 1999. Before that O’Keefe was the head coach at Allegheny College from 1990-97, and at Fordham University in 1998.

He has a college football record of 83-17-1 as a head coach, and his Allegheny team went 13-0-1 and won the NCAA Division III National Football Championship in 1990.

Philbin was the offensive coordinator/ offensive line coach on O’Keefe’s Allegheny College staff from 1990-93, and credits him as a mentor.

O’Keefe, 58, was known for tutoring quarterbacks on Kirk Ferentz’s staff, and has helped Brad Banks, Drew Tate and Ricky Stanzi develop as solid college quarterbacks.

In 2011, Iowa’s offense was led by senior receiver Marvin McNutt, Jr., junior quarterback James Vandenberg and sophomore tailback Marcus Coker. McNutt, who set a single-season (1,315) and career (2,861) records for receiving yards and touchdowns (12 and 28). His 82 receptions tied the single-season record.

Vandenberg threw for 3,022 yards and 25 touchdowns, completing 58.7% of his pass attempts. Coker’s rushing total of 1,384 yards ranks fourth best for a single season at

This will be O’Keefe’s first season as a coach in the NFL.

A report in the Calgary Herald also claims Randy Melvin has resigned from his position as the defensive line coach for the CFL’s B.C. Lions to join the Dolphins coaching staff.

Considering Kacy Rodgers will coach Miami’s defensive linemen, Mevlin might coach the pass rushers, or serve as a position assistant, or become a quality control coach on the defense.

Melvin spent six seasons in the NFL coaching defensive linemen with the Patriots (2000-01) and Browns (2005-08), but has coaches defensive linemen on the college level at Eastern Illinois, Wyoming, Purdue, Rutgers, Illinois, Temple and Rutgers since 1988. He spent one season with the B.C. Lions after leaving Greg Schiano’s Rutgers staff.

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OMAR KELLY was unsuccessful at achieving his childhood dream to become a super hero, so he figured he'd do the next best thing and become a journalist who fights against injustice, and searches for truth. After being bored to death reporting news and covering politics, he switched to sports.
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IZZY GOULD joined the Sun Sentinel in Feb. 2012 as a Senior Sports Reporter on the Miami Dolphins beat. He came to South Florida fresh off covering the University of Alabama football program, including its 2011 national championship team. More